Thanks for the welcome back to good old New Zealand
from my friends. I know I slag kiwi motorists off a bit at times. I abuse truck
drivers at other times. It’s not unknown for me to make the odd sarcastic
remark when people ride on the wrong side of the cycleway, or for that matter
cyclists who ride down the wrong side of the road (I mean what are they
thinking???). But honestly I'm like that everywhere, and I am truly happy to be
back. New Zealand
is such a great place still.
We do really need to watch the overtaking on blind corners and crossing
double orange lines though 'cause it can get you killed. And although we'd like
to think we won’t miss the odd motorist they are people and they do have loved
ones who care about them. They don't deserve to be squished. (They can’t
help the fact that they are too lazy to cycle to the shop for sundry items like
milk).
Sorry I digress. I'm happy to be back and I'm going to be more tolerant of
idiots. But it has been hard re-adjusting this time.
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| Back Home on a Calm Winters Day. |
Firstly the NZ sunlight was dazzling me. Even with sunglasses on I'm
squinting at the moment to see anything due to the low angle of the rays. At
3pm in the afternoon I start thinking it’s time to get ready for nightfall and
then 3hrs later the sun still hasn't set! The autumn colours and long
shadows are very romantic though. Unfortunately with Adi in a moon boot and
hobbling a bit, romance is not something that immediately springs into her
mind. She's happy that she can now get on her bike and cycle down the driveway.
The cat Bob is doing backflips. Not because he's pleased to
see me but because he forgets he now has no back leg and the phantom pains
cause him to do flips that any BMX rider would be proud of.
During my first three or four nights back home I'd wake up in the middle of
the night depressed and wondering where I was and how I was going to get out of
whatever disaster that I’d dreamt up. I’m up early though ready to go. But then
realise that I don't
have to go anywhere and that it’s pretty cold. Last night my bedroom got down
to 6.8degrees C. Now I think that that is probably below the world health organisation’s
guidelines. My parents would have told me that it was good for me as long as I
have a hottie
and feather duvet (which I do have). I'm not complaining because our log burner
does a good job, it’s just that our villa is not well insulated at the moment
and my room is the furtherest from the heat source. (Adi's got somersaulting
Bob for warmth in her room).What annoys me is the fact that the Government has
promised every household $1300 towards insulation but in their great wisdom haven't
used that money to reduce the cost of insulation material but have offered it towards
the cost of employing installation contractors. I mean any idiot can install
polystyrene and fibreglass batts.I don't
need to pay someone to do it! Just make the products affordable!
Sorry I digress. I have managed to achieve a few little things since I have
got back. A length of guttering that I lay at the wrong angle before I left now
has a new downpipe.
A leak in the roof has been fixed (I hope. It hasn't rained
since). A blocked soakage field and a water pump about to have a meltdown
have all been tweaked
prolonging the inevitable.
I'd like to say that since I 've been back that I have jumped on my
bike and powered around my 120km circuit in record times pushing the biggest
gears. Not so. I've done the circuit but the results have been dissapointing.
I think my brakes must have been rubbing, it certainly felt like it. My lack of
form doesn't
bother me because mentally I'm there, keen as mustard and I think it’s just the
cold air and the low angle of the sun that’s upsetting me. that's
it. It’s the low angle of the sun. Hampering my cycling style.
While I was away cycling in Brazil I thought of two things I'd like to do on
my return. Usually while I'm away from home cycling I commit myself to things
on my return. Hours in the saddle on boring stretches of road start my mind
wandering. On previous trips I’ve come back and done bizarre things like
planting hydrangeas
on mass (they look so pretty on Irish country roads). I have spent hours
training climbing fruit trees (because the Austrians do it so well on their
villas). Hanging baskets were the go for some time. (French shop keepers looked
the part tending to theirs so I wanted baskets and window boxes too). Ocean
kayaks were bought after weeks of cycling in a very hot area of Spain. On this
trip I decided to join the Vespa club and VW
club on my return. The idea behind joining the Vespa
club was just to meet new faces. But I have an ulterior
motive behind joining the VW club. And that is to get help in re
assembling the kombi
engine. I now realise I have forgotten how all those bits go back together. I
have promised Adi a fully operational camper at some stage and it’s probably
fairly important that I get the bits back together in the correct order.
Without the VW engine I can’t get the kayaks to the beach at the moment,
although I intend to talk to engineer Andy about a cycle trailer eventually.
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| My First Vespa Club Meet.(The Boys Swap Race Stories). |
I think I may need some advice on basic VW maintenance or not so basic as the case
here is. Please don't
refer me back to one of my previous posts when I think I may have said that any
chimp can put a motor back together. This chimp needs to be shown at least once.
So to that end I think I had better start making friends with people that can tell
the year of manufacture of any kombi by the shape of its indicators or
lack of them from a distance of 300mtrs. It may be painful going to the
"Shine and tell" meetings but I need wheels to transport my bike and
kayaks off to far- away places.
Mitchell’s brought over a bunch of cycle magazines that I missed while I was
away. Vital reading if I am to secure myself a part time bike shop job in these
tough economic times and during the winter off season.
Campagnolo electronic 11 speed!! Who would have thought…..?
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